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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23328388">Dracula, Season 1, Episode 1, The Blood is the Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer'>TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dracula (TV 2013)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s01e01 Pilot, Episode: s01e01 The Blood is the Life, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 01, Series Premiere, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:48:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,593</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23328388</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dracula, Season 1, Episode 1, The Blood is the Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="western">Strangely, despite literally being an inhuman monster, Dracula comes across as much more human and sympathetic than King Henry VIII did. In many instances, he’s actually likeable.</p>
<p class="western">Open to Romania, 1881. Two men break into a place containing a catacomb, and one of them never has his face completely shown. One of the men is excited about the riches present, and the other man slits the excited man’s neck, holds him over the catacomb, and does a title-drop.</p>
<p class="western">Couldn’t the man have just cut his own arm, or given what will later be revealed about his medical background, managed to score enough donated blood? Granted, I’m not sure how he’d transport the latter, but when it comes to the option of struggling or taking a shortcut via murder, those who are worthy of the goal they’re undertaking will struggle.</p>
<p class="western">Then again, there are already debates on whether or not the goal the two main characters undertake is a worthy one.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula comes to life, although, he won’t be called this until much later. There’s a transition to a different scene of him getting out of a tub. Between here and the tomb scene, he’s gotten a haircut, and I notice a scar on his stomach. I don’t know if it’s added by makeup or an actual one of JRM’s. I don’t remember it from when I watched <span class="u">The Tudors</span>, but this doesn’t mean anything.</p>
<p class="western">As he dresses, a big, black man, who will be revealed as Renfield, informs him all the guests have arrived and been photographed. The title-card declares it to be in London, 1896.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula asks if the prototype is ready for demonstration as scheduled. He uses the English pronunciation for ‘scheduled,’ and Renfield, who is played by an actual Englishman putting on a genuine American accent, corrects him with the American pronunciation. “From this day forward, you are an American industrialist.”</p>
<p class="western">“As American as God, guns, and bourbon, as scheduled,” Dracula agrees with a fake American accent.</p>
<p class="western">What, no baseball and apple pie?</p>
<p class="western">As for Dracula’s fake American accent, it sounds odd, but it’s not actually bad. In addition, I’m guessing most of the people he talks to will have never have heard an actual American accent before, and if they have, or if he comes across an American, the excuse, ‘I’m from a different part of America than so-in-so/you,’ can’t particularly be argued with.</p>
<p class="western">Renfield leaves. Dracula practises, “Good evening. I’m Alexander Grayson.”</p>
<p class="western">In a ballroom, people dance, and Jonathon Harker enters with his girlfriend, Mina Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy is played by a blonde Katie McGrath.</p>
<p class="western">The three talk, and it quickly becomes apparent Jonathon and Lucy are just barely able to remain civil to one another. He makes a comment about the champagne glass he’s holding being more than he makes in a week, and Lucy orders him not to be gauche before correcting it’s more than he earns in a month. Reminding him he’s here as her guest, not as a journalist, she wanders off.</p>
<p class="western">Mina wonders why she let Jonathon talk her into coming, and he asks if she’d rather be with him or stuck in the laboratory with a pickled toad. She jokes about her kiss turning the toad into a prince before kissing him.</p>
<p class="western">There’s a few scenes of other people talking about their yet-to-be announced host.</p>
<p class="western">The dance ends, and Renfield introduces Dracula/Grayson. Unless I’m quoting a character, I’m going to stick with calling him Dracula. He and Mina share an intense look.</p>
<p class="western">There’s a flashback of them lying together and kissing.</p>
<p class="western">Then, Dracula gives this toast, “Welcome to my house. May you come freely, leave safely, and please, leave some of the happiness you bring.”</p>
<p class="western">Jonathon asks if Mina is alright, and she assures him she’s fine. “Someone walked over my grave, I suppose.”</p>
<p class="western">As everyone begins dancing, Dracula orders Renfield to find out everything about Mina and Jonathon.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula starts to move around the room, and a dignified, somewhat femme fatale type blonde woman sticks her hand out right in front of him. Left with little choice but to stop and talk to her, he kisses her hand, and she bluntly informs him she’d be in a warm bath if not for the fact she had to come see what the fuss was all about. She introduces herself as Jayne Wetherby.</p>
<p class="western">He inquires of her male companion, “Lord Wetherby?”</p>
<p class="western">“Oh, good God, no,” is Jayne’s response. “This is my, um, companion for the night, my very dear friend, Herr Kruger.”</p>
<p class="western">Kruger snaps his heels, and Dracula responds, “Gesundheit.”</p>
<p class="western">Apparently, the common response for sneezing actually translates along the lines of wishing someone good health. I’m going to assume Dracula’s response is actually a correct, appropriate one, but in all honesty, this moment puzzles me.</p>
<p class="western">After the credits, Dracula goes over to talk to a group of people. One of them is Sir Clive Dawson; his wife is Lady Hope. Another is Lord Thomas Davenport. Finally, there’s Lord and Lady Laurent.</p>
<p class="western">After kissing the hands of the ladies, he starts to talk business with the men. They blow him off, and an eavesdropping Jonathon gives him some advice. Mina comes over, and she and Dracula have a moment.</p>
<p class="western">Renfield comes over to tell him it’s time.</p>
<p class="western">They leave, and Renfield gives the impressive amount of Intel he’s managed to get on Jonathon and Mina in less than five minutes.</p>
<p class="western">Renfield has everyone gather in the centre of the ballroom, and he asks Jonathon if Jonathon was aware the invitation explicitly forbade the press. Jonathon insists he’s simply present as a guest, and Renfield makes an appointment for Jonathon to interview Dracula tomorrow.</p>
<p class="western">Then, Dracula passes out lightbulbs as the room is darkened. He makes it clear, in this universe, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla didn’t make advances in electrical science. Edison dismissed the idea of long-term electric light as a fantasy, and Telsa failed to bring such a thing to fruition.</p>
<p class="western">The fact this is clearly happening in a different universe than the audience’s makes Dracula’s speech about the Dark Ages interesting. Many historians agree we never actually had a Dark Age, but it seems as if the universe in this series did.</p>
<p class="western">On a phone, Renfield orders the people in Dracula’s lab to start stage one.</p>
<p class="western">Upstairs, everyone hilariously stands around waiting, and Dracula is just like, ‘Oh, come on. Get with the working before my big announcement to society turns into a freaking joke.’</p>
<p class="western">Finally, the lightbulb Mina is holding turns on. Then, everyone else’s turns on.</p>
<p class="western">It’s a cool visual, but wouldn’t the lightbulb quickly become too hot for them to hold?</p>
<p class="western">Down below, things start to go haywire, but Dracula refuses to give the order for them to shut it down due to wanting to continue to watch Mina’s reaction. One of them decides to the sensible thing and <span>simply shut it down regardless of the lack of orders.</span></p>
<p class="western">Upstairs, the lights come back on, and puzzlingly, it seems as if they’re electrical lamps.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula goes to talk to Jonathon, Lucy, and Mina. After he leaves, Jonathon comments he seems quite taken with Mina, and Lucy takes somewhat sadistic glee in declaring, “The green-eyed monster rears his ugly head.” Mina insists Dracula was just being polite, but Lucy actually agrees with Jonathon on Dracula’s not-so-subtle interest.</p>
<p class="western">Elsewhere, Jayne and Dracula have sexual tension as they shoot barbs at one another.</p>
<p class="western">Later, the party’s ending, and Clive insults Dracula. Dracula has a line, “Am I?” which is in delivered in the same accent and tone along with the same facial expressions and body language JRM used for Henry.</p>
<p class="western">Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often.</p>
<p class="western">At Jonathon’s house, his friend and roommate, whose name will eventually be revealed as Szabo, encourages Jonathon to propose to Mina already.</p>
<p class="western">There’s a transition to Mina and Lucy talking. Mina is glad her friend is spending the night, but she’d appreciate it if Lucy would not continually insult Jonathon.</p>
<p class="western">Back at Jonathon’s, he tells Szabo that Mina could do better. They hear a whooshing sound along with dogs barking.</p>
<p class="western">Lucy and Mina hear it, too.</p>
<p class="western">Meanwhile, Clive arrives at home. He’s killed mostly off-screen.</p>
<p class="western">The next day, Dracula declares unrepentantly, “The man was a pig. He insulted me under my own roof.” He burns the photograph of Clive.</p>
<p class="western">“So, you tear the man to pieces? Perhaps, we should mount a warning sign over the front door,” is Renfield’s response.</p>
<p class="western">With this being fiction, I kind of find myself agreeing with Dracula. I don’t condone the brutal murder even in fiction, but it is rude to insult someone in their own house, especially after they’ve put effort into ensuring their guest(s) is/are comfortable and enjoying themselves. If he’d taken a less extreme form of revenge, I’d probably be cheering him on.</p>
<p class="western">In real life, I’d call someone who did what Clive did a pig, too.</p>
<p class="western">As they spread the other photographs on the ground, they talk about the Order of the Dragon. Dracula picks up a picture of Lord Laurent, and there’s some foreshadowing as he calls him a, “Preening little peacock.” He has Laurent and Davenport put on the short list due to a belief they’re in the high council.</p>
<p class="western">Renfield asks whom Dracula thinks the leader is, and Dracula isn’t sure. “But you cross them, Renfield, and they will strike down like vipers in a pit.”</p>
<p class="western">He goes on a rant about how evil they are and how barbaric their methods are. He adds, in his day, they asserted their will more directly via the cross and the sword. There’s a flashback to people being burned alive, and Dracula declares the Order now does their dirty work via private clubs and boardrooms.</p>
<p class="western">There’s a brief flashback to the men at the party, and Dracula tells Renfield the order’s dependence on oil to control things will be their undoing. Then, coming across Mina’s picture, he stares.</p>
<p class="western">Elsewhere, Kruger breaks into a house. Opening a coffin to reveal Clive, he starts to cut off the head. The next scene has him delivering a container somewhere, and Jayne picks it up. She takes it to Davenport. The container has garlic in it, and a bulb of it has been stuck in Clive’s mouth.</p>
<p class="western">It’s revealed vampires haven’t been in the city for eight years, and Jack the Ripper was actually the result of the Order covering up vampire attacks by mutilated the victims and sending the letters to the press. Agreeing to inform everyone Clive was killed by dogs, Jayne leaves with the container.</p>
<p class="western">Meanwhile, Van Helsing is teaching a medical class. Mina is the only woman present. Van Helsing is annoyed at some men for talking during class, and Mina shows him the newspaper article involving Dracula’s stunt with the lightbulbs.</p>
<p class="western">At Dracula’s house, Jonathon opens a window to let sunlight into a darkened room. I would have thought, to avoid such things, Dracula would keep rooms well lit when having company over.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula comes in, and Jonathon sticks his hand in the sunlight. Dracula briefly hesitates before quickly shaking Jonathon’s hand. There’s a faint sizzle as his hand burns. He has Jonathon sit down, and when he gets ready to sit, he discreetly moves his chair out of the sunlight.</p>
<p class="western">Do sun allergies for regular humans not exist in this universe? In a few episodes, the fact Dracula never leaves his house during the day is used as proof he may be a vampire. Here, he could have used this as an opportunity to tell Jonathon he has a medical condition wherein his body reacts badly to sunlight; he could even use this as part of the reason he’s so interested in electrical lighting. The suspicion could still be there in later episodes with one person pointing out there are known humans who have trouble tolerating the sun and another person pointing out, though true, it’s still a good excuse for a vampire to use in order to try to cloak themselves from suspicion.</p>
<p class="western">During the interview, Thomas Darwin and the theory of evolution are mentioned rather neutrally as Jonathon writes: Visionary, delusional, and egomaniac.</p>
<p class="western">In the next scene, Van Helsing and Mina talk, and I really like this scene. It’s established Mina has the best grades in her class but has trouble when it comes to actually performing surgery on corpses. Van Helsing <span>says</span>, “You must believe in yourself. In your ability to heal others. It is that simple.”</p>
<p class="western">“But I do.”</p>
<p class="western">“If so, then, you will succeed.”</p>
<p class="western">The reason I like this scene is due to how Mina’s gender isn’t a factor. I’m sure there are real-life medical students who have trouble dealing with corpses and/or the idea of operating on living people, and I’m sure there are real-life professors who give them gentle guidance such as Van Helsing does here. He doesn’t coddle her, but he doesn’t tell her to suck it up, either. He tells her to believe she can one day be a good doctor and to use this to help her do what she needs to do to achieve this.</p>
<p class="western">Later, Mina waits outside the university, and Dracula spies on her. At one point, he comes near her, but when she turns around, a female friend has arrived to walk her home.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula makes eye contact with a woman, and the next scene has him drinking from her.</p>
<p class="western">At the opera, it’s established Dracula has given Mina and Jonathon his box for the night, and he spies on Mina from Jayne’s box. He and Jayne become sexual in a racy, somewhat disturbing scene, and even within the moment, he keeps his eyes on Mina.</p>
<p class="western">In the next scene, Laurent and Davenport talk. Using the information he got from Jonathon, Dracula offered to cancel Clive’s gambling debts if Lady Hope sold Clive’s stock to him. He now has a seat on the board.</p>
<p class="western">Laurent goes out, and Dracula spies on him from a rooftop. Then, an arrow hits him, and he turns to see Kruger is on the roof with him. They fight, and Dracula slits his throat. As Kruger lies dying, Dracula taunts him, and with his last breath, Kruger declares, “You are- Dracula!”</p>
<p class="western">The next scene has Jayne training. From a cage, a female vampire with an accent taunts her. Jayne walks over, and in a cool moment, when the vampire reaches through the cage to take a swipe at her, Jayne effortlessly dodges her. Jayne tries to convince her to give up her sire’s name, but the vampire isn’t budging.</p>
<p class="western">At Dracula’s house, Van Helsing shows up, and it’s revealed they’re working together to take down the order. Van Helsing isn’t happy Dracula went after Lady Hope’s interests instead of keeping Clive alive and going after him directly. Van Helsing also refers to the order as the “Order Draco”, although ‘Draco’ isn’t pronounced in the same way Draco Malfoy’s name is pronounced.</p>
<p class="western">Finally, Dracula physically attacks Van Helsing, and Van Helsing reminds him he’s the one who brought him back to life. There’s a flashback, and it’s <span>shown</span> Van Helsing was the one who cut the grave robber’s throat.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula throws him down, and Van Helsing points out he’s not immune to rage himself. The Order slaughtered his entire family.</p>
<p class="western">Dracula has a flashback to being restrained while his wife was burnt alive. He presently insists he will have vengeance.</p>
<p class="western">The last scene has Mina waking up from a nightmare of her past self being burnt alive.</p>
<p class="western">Fin.</p>
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